African Union

The historical predecessors of the African Union are the Union of African States , a confederation of African states created in the 1960s on the initiative of President Ghana Kwame Nkrumah , as well as the Organization of African Unity , founded 25 May 1963 , and the African Economic Community , founded in 1991 .

In view of the low efficiency and harsh criticism regarding the transformation of the Organization of African Unity into a "club of dictators" ^[6] in the mid-1990s, the idea of ​​creating an African Union was revived on the African continent. The main supporter of the reforms was the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi . On September 9, 1999, the heads of state and government of the member states of the Organization of African Unity adopted the Sirte Declaration (named after the city of Sirte in Libya), which stated its intention to create an African Union. In 2000 , during the Loma Summit, the Constituent Act of the African Union was adopted, and in 2001, at the Lusaka Summit, a plan for the implementation of the new organization’s project was adopted. At the same time, a large-scale program of the African development strategy was approved - " New Partnership for Africa's Development " (NEPAD; ( eng. New Partnership for Africa's Development, NEPAD ).

The African Union began operations on July 9, 2002 , replacing the Organization of African Unity.

On July 31, 2007, a joint peacekeeping operation with the UN began in Darfur .

On July 17, 2016, at the next summit of the African Union, a single African Union passport was presented, which will allow in the future to organize a visa-free regime between all member countries of the African Union ^{[7] [8]} .

According to the Constituent Act of the African Union, the objectives of the organization are:

• strengthening the unity and solidarity of African states and peoples of Africa;
• protection of the sovereignty , territorial integrity and independence of Member States;
• accelerating the political and socio-economic integration of the continent;
• promoting and upholding common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples;
• promoting international cooperation in accordance with the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ;
• strengthening peace, security and stability on the continent;
• strengthening and protecting human rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other human rights instruments;
• creating the necessary conditions thanks to which the continent can occupy a worthy place in the global economy and in international negotiations;
• promoting sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels, as well as the integration of African economies;
• promoting cooperation in all spheres of human activity in order to improve the living standards of the people of Africa;
• coordination and harmonization of policies between existing and future regional economic communities in order to gradually achieve the goals of the African Union;
• progress in the development of the continent through assistance in scientific research in all fields, especially in the field of science and technology;
• cooperation with relevant international partners in eradicating diseases and promoting a healthy lifestyle on the continent.

According to the Constituent Act of the African Union, the principles of the organization are:

• sovereign equality and interdependence between member states of the African Union;
• Respect for the state borders that existed at the time the states gained independence;
• African participation in the activities of the African Union;
• developing a common defense policy for the African continent;
• peaceful resolution of conflicts between member states of the Union through appropriate measures approved by the Assembly of the African Union;
• a ban on the use of force and threats of force between the member states of the Union;
• non-interference of member states in the internal affairs of other states;
• the right of the Union to intervene in the affairs of the Union state by decision of the Organization’s Assembly in the event of war crimes , genocide and crimes against humanity
• peaceful coexistence of member states and their right to exist in peace and security;
• the right of member states to ask the organization to intervene in the affairs of the state in order to restore peace and security;
• promoting self-reliance within the Union;
• promoting gender equality ;
• respect for democratic principles, human rights, the rule of law and good governance;
• promoting social justice in order to ensure balanced economic development;
• respect for the integrity of human life, condemnation and denial of impunity and political killings , acts of terrorism and subversive activities;
• condemnation and rejection of an unconstitutional change of government.

The supreme body of the African Union is the Assembly , which consists of heads of state and government or their accredited representatives. Meetings of the Assembly in the form of a regular meeting should be held at least once a year. At the same time, at the request of any member state and with the approval of 2/3 of the member states, the Assembly may meet in extraordinary session. The Assembly is headed by a Chairperson who is elected for a one-year term by Member States from among the heads of state or government. The Assembly has a fairly broad mandate. She:

• defines the general policies of the African Union;
• Adopts, considers and makes decisions on various reports and recommendations prepared by other bodies of the Union;
• considers the issue of membership in the organization;
• establishes new bodies of the Union;
• exercises control over the implementation of the policies and decisions of the Union, and also monitors their compliance by member states;
• adopts the budget of the Union;
• Provides guidance to the Executive Council on the management of conflicts, wars and other emergencies and the restoration of peace;
• appoints and removes judges of the Supreme Court of the African Union;
• appoints the chairman of the Commission and his deputies, the commissioner of the Commission, and also determines their tasks and the term of office.

Decisions in the Assembly are taken by consensus or, otherwise, by 2/3 of the votes of the member states of the organization. Nevertheless, procedural issues are resolved by a simple majority vote.

In order to strengthen further integration processes, especially economic ones, the Pan-African Parliament was created in 2004 , which should eventually become the highest legislative body of the African Union. It is located in the city of Midrand in South Africa and consists of 265 representatives from 53 member states of the organization.

The Executive Union (IP) of the African Union consists of ministers of foreign affairs or other ministers / civil servants appointed by the governments of the member states. IP meetings in the form of a regular meeting are held at least twice a year. At the same time, at the request of any Member State and with the approval of 2/3 of the Member States, IP can meet in extraordinary session. IP is responsible for coordination and decision-making on issues affecting the common interests of Member States, monitors the implementation of the political strategy formulated by the Assembly, and is accountable to it. The scope and activities of IP include:

• foreign trade ;
• energy , industry and natural resources;
• food, agricultural and animal resources, livestock and forestry;
• water and irrigation ;
• environmental protection, humanitarian action and emergency response;
• transport and communications;
• insurance;
• education, culture, health and labor development;
• science and technology;
• citizenship, residence and immigration issues;
• social security, including the formulation of policies to protect motherhood and children, as well as persons with disabilities and persons with disabilities;
• the establishment of a system of African prizes, medals and prizes.

Decisions in the IP, as in the Assembly, are taken by consensus or, otherwise, by 2/3 of the votes of the member states of the organization. Nevertheless, procedural issues are resolved by a simple majority vote.

In addition, there are specialized technical committees that are responsible to the Executive Committee:

• Committee of Agriculture and Agricultural Affairs;
• Currency and financial affairs committee;
• Committee for Trade, Customs and Immigration;
• Committee of Industry, Science and Technology, Energy, Natural Resources and the Environment;
• Committee for Transport, Communications and Tourism;
• Health, Labor and Social Affairs Committee;
• Education, Culture and Human Resources Committee.

There are other bodies within the African Union:

• Supreme Court;
• African Union Commission (the executive body of the organization acting as the secretariat of the African Union);
• Committee of Permanent Representatives;
• Economic, social and cultural council;
• Peace and Security Council.

In addition, it is planned to create three financial institutions: the African Central Bank (planned to be created by 2028 ), the African Monetary Fund , and the African Investment Bank .

On March 6, 2015, the African Union approved the creation of a regional group of troops of at least 8 thousand troops to counter the Islamists ^{[9] [10]} .

     Membership suspended      Membership terminated

  Turkey since 2005 ^[18] .
  Armenia since 2010 ^[19] .
  Serbia since 2011 ^[20] .
  Azerbaijan since 2011 ^[21] .
  Georgia since 2011 ^[22] .
  Latvia since 2012 ^[23] .
  Since February 2, 2012, Haiti has observer status, and at the AU summit in July 2012 it should have become a full member of the organization ^{[24] [25]} , but this did not happen and in July 2016, Haiti was officially denied the opportunity to join the African Union ^[26]
  Kazakhstan since 2013 ^[27] .
  Palestine since 2013 ^[28] .
  Ukraine since 2016 ^[29] .

(In the past, Israel was an observer of the African Union, but was removed from it. In July 2016, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Africa, he also arrived in Kenya. During this visit, the President of Kenya announced that he would act to return Israel as AU observer, Israeli Prime Minister responded positively.)

• African Development Bank
• European Union
• Community of Latin America and the Caribbean
• Emblem of the african union
• African Union Flag
• African Union Languages

• African Union Official Website
• Website of the Pan-African Parliament